But here’s the problem. More than 570 million Indians don’t have a bank account, according to the World Bank. They’ll have to open one first, assuming they can produce the right documents.

Then they’ll have to wait about a week for a debit card or check book before they can get their hands on the money. And even then, they’ll only be able to withdraw 2,000 rupees ($30) a day or 24,000 rupees ($350) a week.

The ban on more than 80% of India’s cash threatens to slam the brakes on its economy. The vast majority of transactions in India are conducted in cash, and the shortage of notes is hitting the retail, construction and real estate sectors particularly hard.

People are paying for essential items and services using stacks of old 100 rupee ($1.5) notes but there aren’t nearly enough of them to make up for the now defunct cash. And many shops and small traders are reluctant to accept the new 2,000 rupee note because they don’t want to part with scarce change.